JAW-DROPPING skills and spectacular stunts see punters roll up, roll up to the circus whenever it comes to town.

Reporter Steph Brawn went to the Big Top in Nelson, which is wowing the crowds this week, to soak up the atmosphere and learn more about the tricks of the trade.

For most who have been to the circus, they might wonder why people would put their lives at risk to entertain crowds eating fire, riding motorbikes round the Globe of Death or balancing on a wire while hula hooping.

They would be forgiven for taking one look at the death-defying stunts that acrobats perform and thinking they wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, but for the artists and athletes in the big red tent, it's their passion and their life.

The cast of Circus Funtasia have spent years rehearsing their acts making sure every last inch of movement is honed to perfection and they spend almost all their time touring the country, searching for that special feeling you get when hundreds of people gasp and smile in amazement.

When I visited the crew at their base in Carr Road in Nelson, I tried to get a sense of what it was like to be a juggler or an acrobat and how much dedication and patience it takes.

Nia Nikolova-Jones is performing a solo-juggling act at only 13-years-old. I spent four years doing six hours of gymnastics a week, but by that age I'd decided I couldn't quite hack the frustration, pain and relentless practice I would have had to go through to reach a top standard.

So for me it was astounding that Nia had spent around two hours a day since she was about three-years-old working on her circus skills and her act for the week, juggling while on a segway without handles.

Nia attempted to teach me how to juggle with hoops, the first prop she had to use when she was trying to master the skill.

Despite my efforts were nothing short of a disaster, I did get to appreciate the difficulty of the act and how it would take years of patience to get even just a bit good at it.

Nia, who juggles with clubs in the ring, said: "You have to listen to the sounds of the clubs and immerse yourself in it completely.

"It is all about getting into a rhythm.

"Juggling is something you have to keep practicing all the time because you do lose it so easily if you don't.

"You make lots of mistakes along the way but as we say in the circus world, do not let people see your mistakes. Pick yourself up and carry on and they won't know the difference.

"I spend lots of time doing push-ups and running in the evening to build up my strength because the stronger you are, the quicker your tricks get and the better your performance is.

"It's hard work but I love the buzz of performing and I want to keep doing it for life."

I got to have a quick go on Nia's segway, but she made it look like a breeze in comparison to me, who looked more like Bambi learning to walk.

Nia was born into the circus life. Her mum Tracy and her dad Julio, who run the show, have both been part of travelling acts their whole life.

Tracy quite literally ran away to the circus when she was 15. She ditched school and decided the only life for her was in the tent defying gravity on the trapeze, riding elephants and horses or being the ring mistress at the heart of the action, which she is doing in the show at the moment.

She said: "It was my partner Julio's dream to have his own circus and I wanted to as well after I spent nearly 30 years as part of a show in Congleton.

"I just love entertaining people and seeing their faces. We try and give people a full experience with face paint and everything."

For brother and sister Miguel and Alicia Peris, who perform as a brave roller-skating double act, the circus had been in their family for five generations.

Miguel, 38, said: "Trapeze acts had been part of my family for four generations and then myself and my sister decided we wanted to do something together.

"We have travelled all over the world with our act.

"It takes a very long time and a lot of mistakes to get it right. I've dropped Alicia a fair few times so there has to be a lot of trust between us but we work together to strive for perfection."

The only trick I tried where I or the props didn't end up in a mess on the floor was hula hooping, which I managed to get the hang of quite well, although some tougher stomach muscles might have helped.

When the Circus Funtasia team leave Nelson on Sunday, they move on to Oswestry and then Cornwall for a number of weeks as well as stopping off in Manchester.

The variety of skills on show at the circus can be astounding and their greatest trick is making the most complicated and risky stunts look so easy.